Luke turned to face Ash and leaned his hip on the bench. “What were you thinking about?”
A shy smile turned the corners of Ash’s mouth up. “Just…this,” they said, gesturing between themself and Luke. “How I never could have imagined something so…perfect.”
Luke strode across the lab towards Ash, coming to stop beside their chair. Ash turned to face Luke, looking up into his piercing green eyes. “Itisperfect. But what made you think of that?”
Ash’s cheeks burned red hot. “Just… I never imagined I’d have a partner I could talk science with. Who I could nerd out in front of. I’ve never been able to do that before. Sometimes, I’d try, and they wouldn’t be interested. Or I’d never get there because I’d blown off a date while neck-deep in work.”
“You can always talk science to me, Ash.” Luke’s voice dropped into the deep tone he used when they were alone at night.
Why was that so hot? Ash’s cheeks flushed even warmer. “How close are you to finishing your work for the day?”
“Give me five minutes.”
Luke and Ash worked quickly to finish their tasks before Luke ripped off his lab coat and gloves and nearly dragged Ash out of the lab. Ash let out a laugh as the door slammed behind them, and Luke wasted no time locking it and rushing down the stairs. But Ash was surprised when Luke didn’t lead Ash toward the parking lot; instead, he walked further into the building.
“Where are we going?” Ash asked, struggling to keep up with Luke’s long stride.
“My office,” Luke answered, his voice low.
Ash’s heart thrummed in their chest, but not from anxiety. No, they wereexcited. It was a Sunday, so no one would be in their offices. No students would be milling around. It was the only time Ash and Luke could get away with something like this.
They crossed the threshold into Luke’s office, and Ash only had a second to take in the books and papers haphazardly strewn across the desk before Luke slammed the door shut and pressed Ash against it. Luke cupped the back of Ash’s neck as he pulled them into a kiss. Luke’s normally soft kisses werenothingcompared to this one. Ash was set ablaze under Luke’s touch. They threaded their fingers through Luke’s belt loops, pulling his hips to theirs.
Luke let out a throaty groan as he kissed Ash. “Don’t tease me, Ash.”
With a smirk, Ash tugged on Luke’s belt loops again before pressing their lips back to Luke’s. Luke pulled Ash away from the door, leading them towards his desk. Before Ash could comment on the clutter, Luke swept away everything from his desk. All the papers and booksscattered to the floor, littering the room. When Luke turned back to Ash, there was only desire in his gaze.
Luke turned Ash around and pushed them back so they sat on the edge of his desk. Luke deftly pulled Ash’s shirt off and threw it over his shoulder before pushing Ash’s thighs apart with both hands, stepping between them, and capturing Ash’s lips once again. Ash worked to unbutton Luke’s blue flannel, their fingers shaking. They pushed the flannel off Luke’s body, leaving him in only a white t-shirt and jeans. Luke broke their kiss to reach over his shoulder and pull his t-shirt off, throwing it to the ground. Ash ran their hands down Luke’s chiseled torso, admiring every sculpted inch of his body.
As Luke pushed Ash down onto the table and began unzipping their jeans, Ash felt their phone vibrate. There was no way in hell they were answeringthat. But when Luke lifted Ash’s hips to pull their jeans off, Ash’s phone fell out of their pocket and onto the ground. As Luke knelt between Ash’s legs, he glanced down at Ash’s phone and froze immediately.
“What’s wrong?” Ash asked, sitting up.
Luke grabbed Ash’s phone and held it up to them so Ash could scan the email notification on their screen.
Fuck.
Fuck it all to hell.
Ash nearly dropped their phone when they read the email. The subject alone had their heart wanting to explode in their chest. Ash’s fingers shook as they clicked on the email. They could barely hear themself think as they read the body. They had to re-read the same sentence over and over. It wasn’t sinking in. This wasn’t happening.
Ash,
I think we should talk. Do you have time today? We should get a cup of coffee. I can come by your office in an hour.
Let me know if you’re not available.
Jenn
“Luke…” Ash said. Their voice shook as violently as their hands. Their chest heaved as they were unable to take a full breath.
Luke slid Ash over on the desk so there was space for him to sit and read the email over Ash’s shoulder as Ash searched Luke’s face.
“It doesn’t mean she told the Dean. It probably has nothing to do with our relationship.”
Ash shook their head. They had received many “I think we should talk” emails from Jenn over the years, mostly when Ash was behind on their dissertation work. It meant Jenn wanted to discuss something upsetting.
“No, she wants to talk about this. Maybe she went to the Dean and wanted to give me a heads-up. Or maybe she just wants to tell me I’m playing with fire. But either way, this isn’t good. This is really, really bad.”
